


These Two Hearts

by brittbax



Category: Actor RPF, British Actor RPF, Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: Deep Blue Sea-esque, F/M, Friends to Lovers, I haven't decided yet, Possible Smut?, Romance, Slow Build, There's a tag I want to add but it's a spoiler!, actor!tom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-15
Updated: 2014-08-14
Packaged: 2018-02-13 05:03:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2138001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brittbax/pseuds/brittbax
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ashlyn finds a close friend in Tom, but Tom finds more than that in Ashlyn. Will she see in him what he's seen in her the whole time?</p>
            </blockquote>





	These Two Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This is my first RPF fanfiction and I'm excited that I finally typed it out and got it uploaded. This is my second fic ever and so any comments or criticisms are welcome. Thanks to my betas who helped me out, ladyaudiophile and smittenwithmittens (both of which can be found on tumblr at those urls). My tumblr is brittbax if you want to message me or something. Just throwing it out there ;) I'd like to say it now: with work and school and such, I can't guarantee a consistent upload schedule and I'll apologize to everyone right now for that. Anyway, enjoy the story!

“Oi, Ash! Lemme have another pint, wudja?” an older man at the bar slurred. He waved his half full glass, sloshing beer over his hand and onto the polished wood surface.

“Oh no, Frank,” Ashlyn chastised lightly. “I think you’ve had enough. You’re making a mess of my bar.”

“Yer no fun, Miss Ash,” Frank’s drinking buddy, Lewis, loudly declared. Frank laughed and took a lengthy slurp of his drink.

“You’re too drunk, Mr. Lewis. Do I have to call Colette to come pick you boys up?” she replied, wiping up the beer that was spilled. The two men instantly sobered up and Ashlyn snorted; they always behaved when the threat of one of their wives having to collect them was hung over their heads. “You finish your drinks and I’ll call you a cab. Whose tab is this on tonight?”

“It’s on me this time, mate.” Frank clapped Lewis on the back and he almost fell off his stool with the unexpected force of it. Ashlyn called a cab service to pick up her customers as they downed the remnants of their drinks. They threw a few bills down on the counter as a tip before stumbling to the door and she made sure they safely made it into the backseat of the taxi before leaning down to speak with the driver.

“Thanks for coming.” She smiled and handed him a small slip of paper with two addresses written on it. “The tall one is going here and the old one is going here,” she said and pointed to the different addresses respectively.

“Oi, I ain’t old. I’m just as spry as a spring turkey,” Frank exclaimed, mock insulted, knowing she was just teasing.

“It’s ‘chicken,’ ya wanker,” Lewis said, smacking his friend in the chest.

“Watch yer mouth! Miss Ash is still standing here!”

“Frank, you’ve said worse to me. Remember?” she admonished.

“Yeah, but I said it out of appreciation,” he justified. She silenced him with a cock of her eyebrow.

“Goodnight, Frank. Night, Lewis.” She stood and patted the top of the cab. “Thank you again,” She said to the cabbie who simply nodded back. She heard a muffled ‘goodbye Miss Ash’ from both men before the cab pulled away into the cold, dark night. She walked back inside, rubbing her arms to warm them. She grabbed a few dirty dishes from an empty table and took them to the kitchen before returning to her place behind the bar.

Ashlyn glanced over the rest of the pub and stooped down to pick up a bottle cap that had fallen to the floor. When she stood back up, she was slightly startled to see someone occupying the previously empty seat in front of her. It seemed she startled him too because he jerked back a bit in his seat when she popped back up over the bar.

“Hey there, sneaking up on the bartender is frowned upon in this establishment.” She winked at the stranger and gave a short chuckle at his amused smile. “What can I get for you?”

“Just a whiskey on the rocks, please,” he said tiredly. She nodded and turned to make the drink. The man had his head hung low and was leaning heavily on the bar when she returned. He looked absolutely exhausted, almost like he had just fallen asleep there at the bar. Ashlyn gently set his drink down in front of him and he jumped a little when he heard the glass knock the wood. “Thank you, Love,” he said, looking from the glass to her and took a sip.

She grabbed a rag to wipe down the area next to him and snuck a peek at him. He was handsome and she didn’t like the put out look on his face, so she thought she would try to talk to him. “So what’s got you so down, Hon?” She returned the rag to its bucket and rested a hand on the bar before him.

“Oh, me? Sorry, I’m just a little out of it today,” he said when he realized she was speaking to him and smiled at her concern.

“I can tell, but why, if I may ask?” She chuckled and leaned down on the bar to show him he had her full attention.

“Just some long nights…and days. I’m a little overworked at the moment, too many things on my plate, you know? These nightly performances are killing me.”

Ashlyn’s ears perked up. “Performances, huh? What kind of performances?” The man adjusted himself in his chair a bit, looking a bit more alive than before and started to speak but another customer down the bar was trying to get her attention. “Sorry, hold that thought. I’ll be right back.” She attended to the customers who had just sat down and fulfilled other requests before she could return to him. “Sorry about that. So you’re a performer?” she prompted.

They continued chatting for a while, pausing every once in a while so she could do her job and take care of other customers. She found out he was an actor and was currently playing the lead in the running production of Coriolanus at the Donmar and had also been in various films. The man was much livelier when talking about his job even while still looking like he hadn’t slept in a week. His enthusiastic tone made Ashlyn smile, glad to have someone to converse with that wasn’t drunk or on their way.

“By the way, what’s an American doing in a bar in London?” The man asked.

“Working,” she replied simply, shifting a few liquor bottles around.

“That’s not an answer.” He grinned.

“You’re right; it’s a verb,” she glanced at him and gave a sly smirk. “Would you like another?” she asked, picking up his finally empty tumbler.

“No, thank you.” He moved to stand, stretching his back a bit. “I enjoyed your company…I’m sorry, all this great conversation and I never asked your name. Please forgive me. I’m Tom.” He looked genuinely upset that he hadn’t asked her name and extended his hand.

Ashlyn laughed before replying. “It’s no problem Tom, half of my regulars don’t know my name. Or they’re too drunk to remember. I’m Ashlyn.” She put her hand in his to shake it, but Tom turned it and pulled it to his lips and gave her knuckles a soft kiss. She blushed slightly at the action; it was such a gentle gesture and no one had been that tender with her in a long time.

They held eye contact until Tom released her hand to reach for his wallet. “How much do I owe you?” he asked, pulling out a few notes.

“Nothing. You don’t owe me a thing; it’s on the house.” She waved her hand and gave a large smile.

“Nonsense! I ordered a drink, I have to pay you for it.” He counted out a few bills and tried to hand them to her, but she pushed his hands back into his chest.

“No. Nope. I told you, this one’s on me. From what you’ve told me, you’ve had a terrible day and I want to try to make it a little bit better. The drink is free tonight.”

“But, I-“

“Thomas.” She assumed his full first name was Thomas, but didn’t care at the moment. “Your money is no good here tonight. Go on and get out of here before I have you thrown out,” she asserted playfully. He smirked, catching on that she really wasn’t going to allow him to pay for his whiskey. He stuffed his money back into his wallet and put it back into his pocket.

“You certainly have a way with your customers, Miss Ashlyn,” he joked and she smirked at him, trying to suppress a wider smile. “Thank you again for your company, your conversation,” he glanced back down at the bar briefly before looking back at her, “and now your drink.”

“Go get some sleep, Mr. Tom,” she said with genuine care and concern as she gently hit his arm. “Have a nice night.” Her smirk widened into a smile and he returned it full force, giving a small chuckle before starting to walk away.

“Good night.” He got a few strides away before he turned around to face the bar but still slowly moved towards the exit. “I’m going to pay you back for that drink. Mark my words.”

“Have a nice night, Tom,” she said firmly, emphasizing each word even though her smile took away some of the sternness from her words. He laughed heartily and turned back around to exit the tavern.

“He’s hot. Did you tell him you’re married yet?” Ashlyn heard behind her. She whipped around and scowled at her co-worker Jamie, who was making an assortment of drinks for the table she was waiting.

“All I did was talk with him, Jay.”

“All you did was flirt with him, Ash. Hard,” Jamie retorted.

“I did not; I held an actual conversation with someone who was sober and wasn’t trying to hit on me.” Ashlyn started helping her make the different mixed drinks for Jamie’s order.

“Openly.” She snorted.

“Oh, please,” Ashlyn scoffed. “Besides I talk with all of my customers. Most of them anyway.”

“You flirt with all of your customers?”

“Just get back to work.” She rolled her eyes and good-naturedly bumped Jamie’s hip.

“I am, I am.” She picked up her cocktail loaded tray and left the bar, leaving Ashlyn to attend to her customers and her thoughts.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
